IMAGINE A LIFE WITH NO LIMITS…..
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Toastmasters and Guests pose for a photo after the 32nd Bukoto Toastmasters Meeting at Naguru Skyz Hotel |
Bukoto
Toastmasters Club organized its 32nd
meeting at Naguru Skyz Hotel on 2nd October 2018.Toastmasters is a club whose mission is to empower individuals to become effective communicators and leadership through an educational program that is tailored to an individual's distinct needs.
Below is some of the
feedback that the guests gave after the meeting:
“It was wonderful visiting
your club. I reflected afterwards that most of what I saw was at a higher
standard than what I am used to in the clubs I have visited in the US.I like
high standards.”
I was sincerely
mesmerized by the energy of the club .It superseded my expectations by far.”
“I was impressed with
Bukoto’s detailed evaluators and role taker presentations. Visitors were given
feedback forms which they fill before they leave. Well done BTM for a great meeting!
I enjoyed the meeting and learnt a lot.”
"Thanks for the great
hospitality and I look forward to more meetings. I enjoyed all the speeches and
I hope that I will be as good.”
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Maggie Mukiibi Lutwama astounds the audience.There are truly no limits! |
Maggie Mukiibi Lutwama, Toastmaster of the evening emphasized
that everyone has tremendous potential.
That is an irrefutable fact! One only
has to fight on, press forward, stretch, and will overcome any barrier. All insecurities in life are created by individuals, developed
and fed in their minds. People have dreams and actually talk themselves out of these dreams. Maggie is a seasoned sales person with high repute in driving
complex sales growth, marketing, management and consulting.
“Don’t
wish for less problems and challenges, wish for more skills to tackle these
challenges” she opined.
The
meeting featured three speeches by Bukoto Toastmasters’ members. The first
speech by Lydia Kobusinge illustrated
the dynamics of teamwork in the speech titled Together,
We are Brilliant. She commenced her speech with the quote “Alone we can do
so little, together we can do so much”-Hellen Keller. She emphasized the key prerequisites of
an effective team. One- the group of people involved has a common purpose and
the other is interdependence among the members.
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Lydia Kobusinge underscoring the tenets of teamwork |
She
stressed various tips to effectively manage a team such as guarding against
having only few or only one of the team members shoulders the burden of the
entire team. It creates resentment and dampens motivation of those active
members. Furthermore, timely and proper delegation by the team leader is
equally important, to prevent burnout!!! Most importantly, set aside your differences;
focus on what needs to be done and do it first, you can argue later.
Her
speech left the meeting reflecting on how well they are performing in their
various teams: was anyone in the audience piggy banking on other people's
accomplishments? Were others tiring themselves handling the bulk of assignments,
because they felt that they were the only
ones who knew what they are doing? Or were they conscientiously performing
their duties to enable their teams succeed?
Lydia is the Vice President Public
Relations Bukoto Toastmasters; an economist advancing citizens’ critical needs.
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Joshua Ogwal explains the concept of Corporate Governance |
Joshua Ogwal, an accomplished financial lawyer and
member of Bukoto Toastmasters, enlightened the audience about how small
enterprises can make their companies optimal. We were fortunate to glean financial
advice for free. One of these ways is
through employing corporate governance for small scale enterprises such as
bakeries, farms, small scale partnerships, among others. He highlighted
research by Enterprise Uganda that revealed that 1 out of 10 companies make it
to their second year. One of the reasons for these dismal statistics is underestimating
the importance of corporate governance. Imagine
that! Most people assume that corporate governance is a concept that must
be adhered to by large companies, which is far from the truth. He expounded on
one key aspect of corporate governance that companies can incorporate, the need
to establish control environments. I was personally able to jot down three ways
in which small scale companies can establish this, one- establish key activities that the business thrives on and go
on to select the appropriately experienced people to oversee those activities. Next, create and implement systems and
policies in alignment with the company objectives. Thirdly, create a system of accountability across the organization through
setting and monitoring individual performance targets within a given time
frame. He left us pondering about whether we were incorporating these means in
our small businesses. Have/are you dear reader employing these recommendations
in your business? Is it thriving? There is no better forum rather than Toastmasters to provide an environment for benefiting from others’ expertise.
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Catherine Opondo on Being A Stay At Home Mum in the 21st Century |
Catherine Opondo, the Executive Director of Concern for
the Girl Child and immediate past Treasurer, Bukoto Toastmasters Club presented
her speech titled Choosing to be a Stay at Home Mum in the 21st
Century. Catherine relayed the thoughts that raced through her mind as she
contemplated about her decision to resign from her job. What would she do with
herself after the kids were gone? What would happen to the family if her
husband lost his job? Where she would get the funds to meet her personal needs,
if she chose to quit? A survey conducted between 1971-2013 by the Mothers’ Day
Canada Statistics revealed that 6 out of 10 children in Canada were happiest at
home in the presence of a stay-at-home mum. Those are many children.Two incidents triggered her resignation;when she fell asleep behind
the wheel on the way to breastfeed her baby and when her house help nearly succeeded in kidnapping her baby. She does not regret this decision because
her children gained emotional intelligence and emotional enrichment through
home schooling, and she became a world class home manager with fantastic
planning skills. Additionally,this experience groomed her for her current role as
the Team leader of 20 people at Concern for the Girl Child. I must admit, no
one has ever delineated the benefits of being a stay – at –home mother like that before. You will agree with
me that parenthood causes you to carefully assess what you would prioritize for
the sake of family.
I must at this point brag that the proprietor of Naguru Skyz Hotel and Kampala Protea Hotel who has generously provided free space for bimonthly meetings for Bukoto and Kampala Toastmasters Clubs respectively was present to listen in to these amazing speeches.Though we were all attentive, I believe that Toastmasters were secretly observing Mr. Bitature to gauge his reaction(not me ,of course)!
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The audience including Naguru Skyz Hotel proprietor and Toastmasters champion, Patrick Bitature savoring the speeches |
Catherine Opondo was voted the best speaker at this
meeting.
In
her conclusion, Maggie emphasized that being at the very top necessitates that one
must open their minds to being criticized, evaluated, and stretched to the
furthest levels to attain their ultimate goal. Do not shy away from challenges,
they were meant to spur you to become the very best you can be.
This
meeting, I daresay left a lot of room for self-reflection. This is the advantage
that Toastmasters have over various public speaking platforms. It avails the
opportunity to skillfully craft speeches & tales that not only amuse, awe, inspire or educate the listeners, but also enable the individual to
demonstrate and sharpen their leadership and communication competencies.
Would
you like to experience the ultimate Toastmaster experience within the Bukoto
environs? Please join Bukoto Toastmasters for their monthly meetings every first Tuesday of the month and third
Wednesday of the month.
Don’t
miss the first Bukoto Toastmasters Speech Contest on 6th November 2018 at 6:30pm at Naguru Skyz Hotel, Bukoto. It will feature meticulous prepared
speeches and Table Topics speeches (impromptu speeches) ahead of the Project November
Toastmaster contest in November. All this for only UGX 10,000!!! SEE YOU
THERE!!
Lydia Kobusinge
Vice President Public Relations, Bukoto Toastmasters Club